At NPE'94the words B2B, website, browser, dot-com, and Internetdid not exist, or barely registered, in our collective conscience.At NPE'97 the Internet was a new, relatively undeveloped businesstool with only a few players. At NPE 2000 the industry witnessedan explosion of dot-coms, as well as increased use of the Internetby OEMs looking to enhance connectivity for customers. Companiesare positioning themselves to take advantage of what appears tobe a pending revolution of data integration in the molding industry.

The list at the bottom of these pages provides a snapshot ofsome of the dot-coms that were targeting the molding industryat NPE. This section of the Showcase issue explores three arenasof the e-commerce marketplace at NPE this year: reactions frommolders; new sites and products from materials suppliers and designers;and new sites and products from machinery manufacturers.

MolderViews

After a heady 1999 in which dot-coms ruled the investment worldand generated millions of dollars, 2000 is shaping up to be alittle less spectacular. Even Amazon.com, Yahoo!, and other Internetstalwarts are feeling the crunch as investors ask, "But,what about profits?"

That's what some molders are asking as they see dot-coms forthe plastics industry pop up on the landscape. When talking tomolders at NPE about what they think of all the dot-coms at theshow, many questioned where they got their startup money and howrevenues and profits will be generated. Or, as one molder mused,"I wonder if they're really bringing any value to us or ifthey're just a bunch of 20-somethings trying to make a quick million."

Dot-coms admit that adoption among the molding community willbe slow. Molders themselves are cautious. "If you're a custommolder, you're dealing with custom material, custom colors, customformulations," says Doug Cullum, president of MOS Plasticsin San Jose. "A lot of business we get is because we don'tprovide off-the-shelf solutions, but custom solutions to our customers'requirements. A lot of what we buy can't be done over the Internet."

Unimark Plastics Sales Manager Bill Pcheny says his companydoesn't buy any raw material over the Internet. He commented atNPE, "[Internet buying] might be good for polypropylene orsome commodity resins or for spot buys, but buying engineering-graderesins, that could be scary." Unimark is a custom injectionmolder headquartered in Greer, SC.

Don Churchman, vp at CheMatch.com (Houston, TX), an onlineexchange and reverse auction, notes that his company specializesin the bulk spot market for commodity resins. When it comes tocoaxing molders to the Internet to purchase resins, he adds, "Tryingto change the way [molders] think about sourcing materials islike missionary work."

However, even Churchman concedes that the Internet is a tool."It won't replace how the majority of business is done,"he says. "It's still a one-on-one with your resin person."

Jeff Piper, spokesman for fobplastics.com in Chicago, sayshe also believes that the Internet will never replace the personaltouch. "We'll have a field sales force as well," saysPiper. He adds that the reason there's not much purchasing ofmaterials on the Net is because many of the exchanges promotespot buys. "It's difficult for buyers to plan productionbecause availability might not be consistent and reliable,"he says.

Middlemen
Reluctance to purchase on the Internet might also be caused bymolders who see Internet websites as another layer in a processthat could drive rising prices even higher. Piper says, "Ourgoal is not to add layers to the distribution channel or driveprices up. Worst case we match current price, but provide efficienciesonline that reduce transaction costs as well."

That's true when it comes to supply chain management as well.Dave Mendez, director of content development for Supplybase Inc.in San Francisco, CA, says the value of supply chain managementlies in the information and efficiencies it provides. He believesrelationships are critical in the custom world. "None ofthis will replace personal relationships," he says. "Forcertain components and materials, it's one solution, but it willnever be a solution for sourcing a mold. It's a way to facilitatesupply chain management."

Resins,Design Online

A legion of new sites offering resin buying, design support,and collaboration services has arrived to vie for molders' business.

This fall marks the online debut of a collaborative websitefrom BuyPlastics.com originally announced at NPE. Based in Cambridge,MA, the startup company created a secure place for OEMs, suppliers,and processors to collaborate on design, manage projects, anddevelop products. "Imagine an OEM being able to bring theirmolder, toolmaker, and resin supplier to the site for design collaboration,"says Ed Rivera, coo. "Any document or CAD format can be viewedsimultaneously using our viewer and proprietary collaborationsoftware." The site also offers product data management,intelligent searching, document storage, and technical links.

One of the key NPE announcements in this category involvedthe proposed multiple resin supplier website formed by BASF, Bayer,Dow, DuPont, and Ticona. Dubbed Omnexus, the neutral online "injectionmolding e-marketplace" will operate as an independent companyto provide a one-stop shop for molders and OEMs.

According to Yaarit Silverstone, (interim ceo on loan fromalliance partner Anderson Consulting), the site will be runningby October and will cater exclusively to the needs of the moldingindustry. Functions planned include online order placement andtracking, consolidated billing, standard and customized catalogues,search and compare, RFQs, ERP integration, and standard pricing.Silverstone also said that users will be able to apply predeterminedpricing from defined agreements if applicable.

Another Internet debut planned for 3Q (elastomersolutions.com)joins Advanced Elastomer Systems, Bayer, DSM Elastomers, DuPontDow Elastomers, EniChem, M.A. Hanna Rubber, and Zeon Chemicals.Again, the site will unite buyers and sellers of TPE materialsand offer improved efficiencies for molders and OEMs.

Tech Support
Resin suppliers, encouraged by the growth of their separate onlineresin businesses, are finding yet another way to serve customersin cyberspace. Many are beefing up online design support capabilities,adding tools for tasks such as material selection, project management,and collaboration.

GE Plastics, Honeywell EA&S (formerly AlliedSignal), andGeon announced site upgrades aimed at designers. Using interactiveengineering wizards at the GE Design Solutions Center, for example,enables designers to play "what if" scenarios with material,wall thickness, deflection, and other parameters. An online materialselector with multipoint test data offers help in determiningstiffness, fatigue, flow, and cost.

Honeywell's Martin Scheena, director of e-business, explainsthat collaboration is a logical next step. "After streamliningcommerce and supply chain efficiencies, we're now employing oursite for CAD collaboration with plans for CAE collaboration inthe near future." An online answer center with a privatechat area offers the services of an application development engineerfor 2 hours a day along with next-business-day e-mail repliesto questions. Honeywell's project management zone is a virtualprivate network where designers work on models with suppliersin real time, sharing analysis results and iterating designs.

Geon's new site launched in February, getgeon.com, posted $10million in sales in the first three months. Now on its secondversion, the site has the distinction of being the first to connectusers in real time to Geon's ERP system (SAP). David Honeycutt,director of e-business, commented on the need for a broad rangeof solutions based on the customer's needs. "Some of ourcustomers want direct ERP-to-ERP connectivity or supply chainintegration for forecasting demand, while others need a lightertouch, such as electronic order placement, tracking, and messaging.Our solutions need to address the entire spectrum."

Machineson the Net

It's been said that the most critical point in a supply chainis the point of production. Here even a small problem can growexponentially and spread unless it's identified and correctedwhile still small, which is why many manufacturers are targetingnew products to enhance how production information is distributed.

Universal connectivity is American MSI's solution. Its newMSI Cell-Net system allows online, multimedia, single-point accessby anyone in the chain, anywhere in the world, to mission-criticaldata at the point of production -- access to data from any existingdevice in any existing cell (see photos). It replaces nothing.It simply connects everything, and everyone, together.

It interweaves pertinent production data with a facility'scomputer databases, like ERP or CAD. It presents information througha Web browser and provides a common communications thread, tyingtogether customers, vendors, consultants, and employees via voice,video, and real-time messaging connections.

A typical production cell consists of the appropriate numberof discrete device portals, a minimum of four Web cameras, a cellportal, a server, and the associated software packages. A typicalcell system starts at $8000.

E-Commerce Solutions
By far, the loudest buzz among industry insiders during NPE weekwas, What is Gordon Darling up to? Darling's name is legend insome circles. He is president of Superior Industrial, a leadingmanufacturer's rep firm. He sent out top-secret invitations toa lavish VIP cocktail party that was to be convened at midnighton the last night of the show. The SRO gathering included representativesfrom many of the leading molding machinery OEMs.

What he announced was a future website (yourmoldingmachine.com),an e-business initiative devoted to helping users specify, purchase,install, and start up injection molding machinery -- an e-commercemachine rep service. Online training services also will be provided,in addition to e-mail hot lines for technical service and support.Darling plans to sign contracts with machinery OEMs and theirexisting reps for their participation in his e-business venture.

Online Customer Service
Many molders see improved customer service as being the biggestbenefit of Internet communications. So do many of their suppliers.For example, Milacron's service parts business unit, Serv-Tek,is supplying its global customer base with the latest eCRM (electronicCustomer Relationship Management) advances. It now uses Web-basedsupport operations to integrate customer contact information.

Its e-system is linked to ServTek through Synchrony Communications,a leading eCRM application service provider. Synchrony functionsas a contact center that pops appropriately detailed customerprofiles on-screen for ServTek agents in immediate response totelephone calls, faxes, e-mails or Web-chat messages.

The eCRM system also works with Milacron's standard, Web-capableXtreem machine controller to provide proactive service alertsvia the Internet. Xtreem software uses message carriers referredto as "trouble tickets" to alert Milacron about machinemaintenance needs and periodic service requirements. The eCRMcapability also works with ServTek's Spiders quote system to permitcustomers to enter orders, check prices, and ensure product availabilitywith qualified agents.

Riding your Web browser to www.toshiba-machine.com will soonland you at Toshiba's new e-commerce site. When complete it willallow customers to order machine parts, register for trainingclasses, apply for credit, and submit RFQs. Toshiba's new sitealso will offer specs on all of its molding machines. Remote diagnostics,online engineering and service support, and a technical forumfor molders are also in the works.

An independent test lab, Plastics Technology Laboratories,has opened what it calls a "Testlopedia" service atwww.ptli.com. This free service provides easily understood, concisedescriptions of nearly all commonly used analytical, mechanical,thermal, electrical, and optical tests. Testlopedia also providese-mail links to testing experts and standards organizations forusers who require more in-depth information.

E-tooling Services
Of all the companies emphasizing e-business at NPE, Mold-Masters'system for configuring and ordering hot runners is arguably themost revolutionary. The Mold-Masters Merlin website uses Internet-basedtechnology to cut the time frame for hot runners to five days,rather than weeks.

When you want to order a hot runner system, you can accessMerlin's online configurator. An online Wizard leads you throughthe process, asking for all pertinent information and parameters,and then configures your system in about 10 minutes. This meansyou get a 3-D drawing showing the system and a price quote withdelivery time. Your 3-D drawings are viewable online using VRMLand 2-D and 3-D drawings can be downloaded.

Once an order is placed, it's entered into Mold-Masters' businesssystem and can be tracked by the customer. Mold-Masters has putan enterprise-wide effort behind Merlin, committing manufacturing,engineering, administration, and everything else to what it callsa new business model.

Other NPE introductions: D-M-E introduced its Internet servicefor mold tooling technologies. Its new site (www.dmeco.com) usese-commerce and database capabilities to centralize, speed, andsimplify filling mold tooling needs. E-shoppers can view thousandsof D-M-E products and services in cyberspace. Moldmakers, designers,and molders can use the site to get prices, place and track orders,monitor accounts, search for products, check specs, and downloadCAD files.

Husky has launched a dedicated hot runner website (www.hotrunners.com)to provide a single source for its line of runnerless moldingsystems. CAD downloads, file transfer capabilities, and nozzleselection guidelines are offered. Husky's anxious, four-week-deliveryPronto hot-half customers no longer have to wait for details likedrawings when configuring hot runners into molds. Other featuresinclude application case studies, literature downloads, and news.

Incoe has introduced a system for making better selectionsfrom its online hot runner catalog. The new Compass system onits website (www.incoe.com) is linked to the catalog, making iteasier for users to choose a system after inputting materialsand applications requirements. All information can be downloadedinto a design.

Dot-comsfrom the NPE aisles

apexq.com
Type: Membership information exchange
Services: Largest information database service for buyersand sellers of secondary plastics; includes material from bothpostindustrial and postconsumer markets. Now has prime resin portal.
Started: 1994; 1999 opened prime market exchange

apps4biz.com
Type: Application service provider (ASP)
Services: Provider of management, inventory control, purchasing,financials, and other services; offers e-commerce enabling software;and focuses on small businesses (less than $50 million).
Started: 1999

buyplastics.com
Type: B2B collaborative product development
Services: Comprehensive Web-based infra-structure designedto bring products to market faster; allows OEMs, processors, andsuppliers to work together on design and product management.
Started: Scheduled to start up in September 2000

chematch.com
Type: B2B exchange and reverse auction
Services: Exchange and information resource for buyingand selling bulk commodity chemicals, plastics, and fuel products;$100 million transaction value in first two years.
Started: February 1998

chemconnect.com
Type: Chemical and plastics exchange
Services: Connects buyers and sellers in real-time transactions;bills itself as a neutral marketplace and the world's largestchemical and plastics exchange.
Started: 1995

fobplastics.com
Type: Outsourcing procurement
Services: Delivers information and technology-based services;designed for systematic purchasing; and offers a database with32,000 plastics products.
Started: June 2000

freemarkets.com
Type: Reverse auction
Services: Provides a way for OEMs to locate new vendorsand suppliers for current products or for new programs; offersreal-time bidding on molds and molded parts.
Started: 1998

getplastic.com
Type: B2B plastics e-marketplace exchange
Services: Vendor-neutral procurement marketplace designedfor engineers and purchasing professionals who locate and buyraw materials for plastic products.
Started: June 2000

matweb.com
Type: Materials information resource
Services: Database of thermoplastics, thermosets, polymers,metals, semiconductors, fibers, and other engineering materials;includes data sheets and spec sheets.
Started: September 1997

netvendor.com
Type: Collaborative B2B e-commerce
Services: Helps companies automate and manage complex productsales, service, and distribution channels over the Internet; targetsthe electronics, automotive, and industrial vertical markets.
Started: 1996

planetcad.com
Type: Engineering service provider (ESP)
Services: Develops and delivers ASP services, e-commercesites, and portals for manufacturing and design engineers needingto streamline the digital manufacturing supply chain; specializesin healing CAD data and fixing translation errors.
Started: June 2000

plasticsindustry.net
Type: Manufacturer-to-manufacturer (M2M) marketplace
Services: First product-specific site for feedscrews andbarrels; other types of equipment will be offered to the plasticsindustry as the site grows. The site is powered by American Manufacturers.com.
Started: March 2000

plasticsnet.com
Type: Supply chain management
Services: Formerly known as an online marketplace connectingbuyers and sellers, the site's focus is moving away from thiscrowded arena to supply chain management, including connectivityissues.
Started: 1995

polymerplace.com
Type: Portal
Services: Provides technical information on plastics toproduct designers to help translate ideas into actual plasticparts.
Started: Still in development

polymersite.com
Type: B2B plastics e-commerce exchange
Services: Launch puts PolySort into the resin buy/sellexchange business; site uses a sealed bid process and acts asa price matchmaker between the buyer and seller; actual transactiontakes place offline.
Started: April 2000

processzone.com
Type: B2B plastics industry search engine
Services: Features industry news, job listings, RFI/RFQs,calendar, industry links, discussion forum, classified ads, anda tech center. Offers links to processors' websites and listings.
Started: June 2000

qplastics.com
Type: Portal services
Services: Offers free e-mail; resin pricing information;industry news; reference desk; education site for schools; articles;books; professional societies. Includes a forum for bidding jobs,free classified ads, and job listings.
Started: Under development

suppliermarket.com
Type: B2B e-commerce
Services: Marketplace for industrial manufactured products;connects buyers of industrial products (standard and custom) withsuppliers; offers line-item bidding for multilined RFQs; had $50million worth of RFQs awaiting bid when opened.
Started: October 1999

supplybase.com
Type: Supply chain management
Services: Specializes in entrepreneurial software thatfocuses on supply chain management including distribution andmanufacturing management for the custom parts supplier.
Started: August 1999

theplasticsexchange.com
Type: B2B e-commerce
Services: First real-time bid/ask exchange for tradingprime resins; cash and delivery commodity exchange modeled afterthe Chicago Commodities Exchange to facilitate trading in 27 standardcontracts of PE, PP, and PS.
Started: June 2000